1. Technical Field
This invention relates to luggage carts and, more particularly, to an adaptable luggage cart for transporting goods between remote locations.
2. Prior Art
Everyday, countless consumers climb into automobiles, buses and airplanes and embark on business trips and family vacations. Whether traveling across state lines in order to visit a favorite relative, trekking across country for a relaxing stay at a beach front resort, or climbing aboard a 747 for an important business meeting, spending time away from home is a fact of life for millions of people. Regardless if one travels for business or pleasure, most consumers do not leave home without first packing personal belongings necessary for the trip. Changes of clothing, shoes, toiletries, hair dryers and personal mementos are but a few of the many items most people pack into a suitcase and take with them on the road.
While packing a suitcase for travel is necessary, actually transporting packed luggage can be a difficult task. For those who utilize traditional, handled suitcases and travel bags, transporting these goods involves the burden of balancing the entire weight of the bag on one arm or shoulder. Straining the muscles of the neck and back, carrying a packed suitcase can be an exhausting endeavor, particularly for elderly persons and those who are not in the best physical shape. Although luggage manufactures have recently begun adding two wheels to the design of many suitcases in order to facilitate transport, transporting several bags at once can be problematic.
Simply stated, most consumers find that they must carry more than one suitcase or travel bag with them when they travel, simply in order to make room for such necessities as toiletries, extra shoes, hairdryers, curling irons and similar goods. In addition, for those traveling with small children, items such as car seats, portable cribs and similar infant accessories are absolute necessities which must be manually carried when transporting items through an airport, train station, or even from one's vehicle to a hotel room. Obviously, it would be advantageous to provide a more practical means of transporting the many items needed during travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,904 to Boom discloses a luggage cart assembly including a base that has a top side, a bottom side, a first end edge, a second end edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge. A plurality of wheels is rotatably coupled to the bottom side. The top side has a plurality of wells extending therein. Each of the first and second side edges have two wells positioned adjacent thereto. A plurality of posts each has a first end and a second end and a bend positioned between the first and second ends. Each of the first ends is positionable into one of the wells such that second ends of adjacent posts extend toward each other. A pair of fastening members removably secures adjacent ones of the second ends together. A rod has a pair of opposite ends. Each of the opposite ends is removably attached to one of the fastening members. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not incorporate a storage chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,635 to Johnson discloses a frame assembly, two wheel holding carriers which are arcuately pivotably mounted to the frame assembly, and a support platform which is also pivotally mounted to the frame assembly and controls the movement of the wheel holding carrier. A small, compact, two wheeled, luggage cart/carrier is achieved which is capable of quickly and easily arcuately pivoting wheel support brackets between two alternate positions, with ease and convenience. In addition, the arcuate pivoting movement of the wheel supporting brackets is automatically achieved simultaneously with movement of the luggage support platform from a stowed position to a deployed, usable position. The support platform is pivotally mounted to the terminating end of the frame assembly for being arcuately pivoted between a first, stowed position and a second, deployed position wherein the support platform is substantially perpendicular to the plane established by the frame assembly. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not incorporate a storage chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,602 to Chang discloses a retractable wheel for a built-in luggage cart with a pair of telescopic pull rods, a handle mounted on the upper ends of the pull rods and retractable wheels provided at opposite sides of the lower edge of the luggage near the lower ends of the pull rods. The retractable wheel has a frame attached to the luggage and defined with a wheel well, a retractable wheel mount having an upper end pivotally connected to the frame, and a wheel rotatably attached to the lower end of the wheel mount, a strut vertically movable in the frame, a pair of arms having one end thereof pivotally connected to the strut and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the wheel mount, thereby the retractable wheel is extendable and retractable when the pull rods of the built-in luggage cart are extended and retracted. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not include straps for securing additional luggage to the cart.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an assembly that is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for transporting goods between remote locations. The adaptable luggage cart is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.